Among the disaster medicine fellows, Ahmad Alshadad, MBChB, and I have focused on creating effective training protocols tailored to the unique environment of marathon medical tents. Together, we have created video-based training material that will be freely accessible to all medical volunteers at the marathon and have also run a simulation on proper tourniquet placement and wound-packing prior to the marathon. The rest of the disaster medicine fellows—Amit Boukai, MD, MPH; Lindsay Davis, DO, MPH; Almas Malik, MD; Anany Prosper, MD, MPH; Bharat Raju, MD, MEM; Jonathan Shecter, DO, MPH; Ayanna Whittington, MBBS, MPH, DMEM—assisted with data collection, training implementation, and analysis, with fellowship co-director Amalia Voskanyan, RN, and education director Fadi Issa, MD, JBEM, EMDM, providing guidance.

Brad Newbury, MPA, NRP, president of the National Medical Education & Training Center (which provided training support for the project) added, “Creating realistic simulation scenarios is vital for effective training. Our aim is to help medical volunteers build muscle memory for these critical skills in a controlled environment.”

Data collected will inform best practices for future events, potentially transforming how mass gatherings approach emergency preparedness. A grant from the Boston Athletic Association helped support this work, and without their funding, the implementation of the trauma kits along the marathon route would not be possible.

With continued incidents of violence at public events globally, this research will provide timely insights into how medical response can be optimized to protect and preserve lives during unexpected tragedies.

Dr. Görgens is an emergency physician at Yale University. She completed a fellowship in emergency medical services with the Fire Department of New York City and Northwell as well as a disaster medicine fellowship with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard University.

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